Tricks of the Lost
by ShaduofTexitar
Summary: Yugi is a college proffessor working a simple job, teaching linguistics. When Marik shows up with an offer to help with the Atlantis project, and Yugi accepts, taking a failing student with him, will he dig himself too deep? And what waits at the end?
1. Seha and the Proffessor

Shadu: Okay, here's another idea of what might happen to Yugi when he's older.

"Remember class, finals are next week and your final essays on Egypt are due as well," the young professor told his class as they left the room. "Ms. Johnson, my office now," he added.

A young woman turned to the professor, who was making his way to the office.

"What's wrong Mr. Mutou?" she asked.

"That's Dr. Mutou to you, Seha" he corrected her as he held his door open.

"It's Ms. Seha," she shot back.

All she received in return was a warning glare from her professor. She gulped. She was in for it now. He didn't call many to his office. And he only made the troublemakers call him Dr. Mutou. On top of that, he was usually very respectful. He had said at the beginning of class that he did not like to pull rank on his students, but would do so if he deemed it necessary.

She slowly slunk through the door and closed it behind her as she made her way, cautiously, to one of the chairs in front of Dr. Mutou's desk. Dr. Mutou studied her from behind his thin framed glasses, which really only had a thin strip of metal on the top of the glasses and across the bridge of the nose, before he said anything. Taking a deep breath, he began.

"Seha, understand these two things before I get started," Dr. Mutou told her. "One, most college professors would not take the time to talk to you about this, but I am different. I care about each of my students and want to see them succeed. Especially if I see potential in them," he paused here to let that sink in. "Two, linguistics is not something you can look at once and be able to use the next day. It takes study, the constant repetition of looking over the symbols and words. In this case, symbols, this class being the study of dead languages. You can't just expect to look at the textbook, or notes, if you've even taken any, or even the manual I handed out, once or twice and then think you can translate something. I've got news for you, if you do that, then you won't be able to translate squat," again, he paused to let the words find their place in Seha's brain. "Seha, you haven't turned in a single assignment. That in itself is bad. But on top of that, you haven't passed a single class. In my few years of teaching, I haven't had a score as low as yours. A 23.3 doesn't cut it," Dr. Mutou, again, paused here. "I'll make you a promise, if you turn in the final essay, _and_ pass the final, I'll pass you with a 60. If you don't, I'll see you next fall."

Seha knew why he had said next fall. Dr. Mutou was the only linguistics teacher in the whole school, and he didn't teach summers.

"But a sixty will look bad on my transcript," Seha protested.

"That's your problem, not mine," Dr. Mutou shook his head as Seha hung hers.

Before Seha could say anything else, the door banged open abruptly. Seha jumped and stared back at the person in the doorway. Dr. Mutou, however, was unaffected. That had happened to him many times before.

In the doorway stood a tall man with light blonde hair. He had purple eyes behind his shaggy bangs and various gold bands and other items on his body. He didn't wear anything too flashy. A pair of light brown jeans and a blue tank top. He looked at Dr. Mutou with a smile.

"Marik," Dr. Mutou grinned, standing to his feet and walking over to greet his friend. "It's been a while. And I see you haven't changed much."

"Yes, too long my friend," Marik agreed, taking Yugi's extended hand. "And you haven't changed that much yourself."

Yugi smiled, knowing it was true. He still had his spiked hair, which naturally grew that way. His voice had become a little deeper, but not much, and his stature had become slightly taller, though he still had to look upwards to see Marik's face. His eyes were still round, but seemed more proportional to his face and had lost some of their innocence, though they were still as violet as ever. Surprisingly enough, he still wore clothes that resembled his old school uniform, and the Millennium Puzzle still hung around his neck.

"Come, sit down," Yugi offered as he walked behind his desk again.

"Oh, well, it looks like you were talking to someone, I can come back," Marik shrugged.

"No, she can wait, we were almost done anyway," he stopped Marik, shooting a warning glance at Seha, who kept her mouth shut.

"Oh, well, if you insist," Marik sat down in the chair next to Seha.

"Seha, this is Marik Ishtar, a good buddy of mine," Yugi introduced. "Marik, this is a student of mine, Seha Johnson."

"Nice to meet you," Marik nodded at Seha.

"So, what brings you this way?" Yugi asked.

"Well, if you didn't know, my sister, myself, and a team of archeologists have taken up Professor Hawkins's research of Atlantis, since he is no longer able to continue due to his health and old age," Marik explained, Yugi listening intently. "We've made a lot of progress, but have come to a spot that we can't seem to bypass."

"Oh really? Why not?" Yugi asked, urging Marik to go on.

"There's a wall there that blocks any progress," Marik told Yugi. "It's got strange inscriptions on it, and no one of the team can figure out what it means. I figured that since you specialized in dead languages, you could figure it out," Marik paused, a grin coming on his face. "That, and it gave me an excuse to come see ya," Marik added.

"Always good to see old friends, and if they were once enemies, that makes them so much more special," Yugi agreed. "So, when do you need me? I'm more than willing to help."

"As soon as possible," Marik answered.

"If you can wait until next Thursday, I can leave then," Yugi replied. "Gotta wait until finals are over ya know," he shrugged with Marik answering with an understanding nod.

Yugi was about to say something else when an idea suddenly hit him.

Turning back to Marik, he asked, "Would it be possible for me to bring another person along?"

"Sure, who'd you have in mind?" Marik wondered.

Yugi didn't reply. Instead, he turned to Seha.

"Seha, I'll make you a deal, since grades aren't posted until finals are graded, and I'll be gone right after finals, if you come with me and write a ten page report on the trip, I'll pass you with at least a mid C," Yugi offered.

Seha nodded her head vigorously, unable to contain her excitement. She couldn't find words to say, so she just nodded.

"Would that be alright with you, Marik?" Yugi asked, turning to his friend.

"Sure," Marik agreed.

"Then that's that, we'll all meet at the airport next Thursday," Yugi informed.

Seha was so happy. She could finally make her parents proud. Little did she know, a storm was brewing.

Shadu: So, what'd ya think? Review, please. I'll take anything you got.


	2. Atlantis and the Riddle

Shadu: Glad you guys like this story (the few you that reviewed ::glares at others who didn't:: ). I thought it was good, then again, I did make it up....

The week passed quickly and before Seha could catch her breath, she was on a private plane and flying to the site of the boat that would take them to the spot of Atlantis. Yugi seemed to be very pleased that the week went by quickly.

He leaned his head back as the cool waters whipped through his hair, his pack on his back making his back sweat.

So, you taken up another adventure?Yami asked.

/Yes, but I couldn't pass this one up/ Yugi justified.

That's just like you, always looking for adventureYami answered.

/Well, life can't always be boring/ Yugi shrugged.

Yami just chuckled at that. Yugi was like that, always looking on the bright side of things, never wanting to look for the bad. And Yugi seemed to always make light of dark. That's what Yami liked about his lighter side.

"You ready?" Marik asked, coming up behind Yugi.

"Always," Yugi nodded.

It was all a blur for Seha. Before she could blink, it seemed, they were in the sub that took them down to the bitter bottoms of the ocean.

"Now, when we land, my sister will be there to debrief you all," Marik stated as the archway came into view.

Seha watched in awe. The stone pillars that invited them in were magnificently carved with complex patterns. Never before had she witnessed such complexity and beauty. She regretted not bringing a camera. Everything seemed peaceful down here. Not even the light from the outside world penetrated the darkness here.

Marik carefully guided the sub through the archway and emerged in the chamber that led to the wall.

"Everyone, out," Marik instructed.

Yugi got out first, followed by Seha and then Marik. Ishizu walked up to them, a twinkle in her eye at seeing Yugi again.

"It's good to see you again Yugi," Ishizu told him.

"Yes, I agree," Yugi nodded.

Yami appeared beside him. Ishizu was a little startled at first, to be able to see Yami, but she figured that he found out how to make himself apparent to everyone. Seha, however, was shocked and jumped back a few feet. How could a man come out of nowhere like that?

"Ah, my pharaoh, good to see you as well," Ishizu bowed.

"Yes," Yami answered.

"Our progress thus far has been slow," Ishizu explained. "We have found quite a bit with our limited knowledge, but we ran into a wall that has blocked our path and no one can decode the inscriptions on it. That's when I sent Marik out to find you. I have faith in you Yugi."

"I'll do my best," Yugi nodded, assuring Ishizu.

"I know you will," Ishizu almost smiled. "Who is this?" Ishizu wondered when she saw Seha.

"This is my student, Seha," Yugi introduced. "She will be shadowing me for the length of time I'm here. Seha, this is a good friend of mine, Ishizu Ishtar."

"Good to meet you," Seha nodded.

"The pleasure is mine," Ishizu bowed.

"So, where is this wall?" Yugi wondered, eager to get on the problem.

"Right this way," Ishizu escorted Yugi and Seha to the wall.

It was a huge walkway blocked by solid rock. Strange inscriptions covered it, and Yugi looked through his glasses at them, thinking. Seha stared at it, lost in total confusion. Yugi walked up and touched the wall. His fingers caressed the indentions.

"Can you do it?" Marik asked.

"I think so, I've seen writing very similar to this before. I think the other language was derived from this one, the symbols are almost identical," Yugi stated.

"Do they mean the same thing?" Seha asked.

"I believe so," Yugi nodded.

"Are you sure?" Marik asked.

"No, I'm not, but I would bet a lot on it," Yugi told him.

"So, are you going to decode it?" Seha pressed.

"Hush," Yugi scolded. "This will take at least a few minutes. I'm very familiar with the similar language, so I should be able to read this with relative ease if you keep quiet."

Seha closed her mouth and watched with baited breath, like everyone else, as Yugi studied the writing. Marik could almost see, hear, his brain working as he figured out what the writing said. A minute passed, then five, then ten, and then, finally...

"I've got it!" Yugi called out triumphantly.

"What does it say?" Marik wondered, standing to his feet and coming over to Yugi.

Yugi read, "The enemy of that which is true

The guardian of those who are evil

Protector of the weak

Destroyer of the strong

So is the enemy summoned

He who comes to ruin the plans of the pure

He who destroys the good of the world

Guardian of the opposite side

Carer for those of insufficient hearts

The breeder of darkness and black hearts

Say his name and receive passage."

Shadu: Hey, if you want to know the answer to the riddle, review. That's all I have to say. And I'm trying to make this original, well, as original as you can get now a days. Don't tell me if I'm doing a good job yet though. Riddles are common, the other stuff comin' up isn't, I think. It is in my opinion.


End file.
